Penny Wise and the League of St. Claire

Chapter 13

After a second day of waiting, Penny was forced to make a decision. “Apparently, the Beast is not coming. We must do something to entice him to the final battle here.”

“What do you suggest?” Geoffrey asked.

A noise aborted her reply. Soldiers emerged from doors to the observation deck and began firing their weapons. Geoffrey and his two friends returned fire with theirs. Carmen shot beams from her eyes at them. Milo spun in the air and flew at them, knocking them down like bowling pins, and Jordan used small energy bubbles to blast them to smithereens. Harriett used her powers to disarm them and then make their guns fly back at them like spears thrown by crazed warriors.

The battle heated up as more soldiers came into the fray. Milo took a hit to his chest from an assault rifle. He fell and Jordan ran to his side and placed a hand over the wound. Almost instantly, the bullet came out and the wound healed to allow Milo to get back up.

The rate of weapons’ fire became too ferocious. Harriett got hit in the abdomen and collapsed. Again, Jordan ran to her and healed the wound.

“We must leave,” Penny shouted. “This is doing no good.”

They quickly held hands and were transported back to Lincoln’s memorial.

Penny held a hand to her forehead. “I sense that the evil forces will try to destroy us in our time. We must go back and stop them.”

“We’ll join you,” Geoffrey said.

They transported to the past near George’s cabin, and as soon as they appeared, demons came out of the woods and ran towards them. These evil followers of the Beast had red scaly skin and large curled horns sprouting from the sides of their heads. Their animal snots were lined with sharp teeth, their eyes were glaring like red beacons, and they were howling and drooling like rabid dogs.

Geoffrey, Angel and Holly took shooting positions and began firing at them. Carmen shot laser beams at them. Harriet made rocks fly up and smack into them. Penny held her hands out and shot white-hot lighting bolts at them.

The demons retaliated by throwing flaming rocks at them. The rocks exploded like grenades when they struck the ground. The air was filled with smoke from rapidly occurring explosions. Energy beams and bolts of brilliant lightening flashed back and forth as the woods became a deadly battlefield.

George was sitting quietly in a small boat and fishing when all of this happened. He thought that the World War had come to America. The explosions caused the water to ripple and rock his boat. Afraid for his life, he immediately dropped his fishing gear and began rowing as if he were possessed toward a small dock. He was nearly there when a winged creature appeared over him, casting an ominous shadow. He cringed and tried to shield himself from the sharp talons that were rapidly descending upon him. Just before the talons reached him, he saw an African American boy crash into the creature, knocking it away. The creature flew up and dived on Milo, but Milo spun like a top and crashed into the creature, knocking it into the water. It sank, leaving a red splotch floating on the water. Milo hovered in the air above George and gave him a smile before flying off. George was so shaken up he could barely crawl out of the boat. He now believed the girl when she said ‘With God all things are possible.’

Milo returned to see that the others had managed to kill or scare away the remaining demons. He also saw that Penny had been badly wounded, and Jordan was at her side trying to save her.

Milo knelt down alongside Jordan and placed his hand alongside Jordan’s on Penny’s leg. The power of two poured into Penny’s ugly wound and it began to heal. After a few moments, she was able to stand up. The scar from a demon’s talon was still visible but it was slowly fading.

Penny smiled at her two saviors. “Thank you,”

“It was my pleasure, ma’am,” Jordan said.

“Ditto for me,” Milo said. “A flying demon tried to attack George, but I took it out before it did any damage.”

“We must go and console him,” Penny said.

They walked around the lake to the small dock where George was seated with his legs over the side. He looked up at them and sighed. “I apologize for not believing you.”

“That’s all right, grandfather. We’re just as amazed by all of this as you are.”

“We didn’t anticipate that the Beast would send his soldiers in the past to attack us,” Penny said. “It proves that they’re desperate.”

George looked at the three new kids with a curious expression etched into his face.

“Oh,” Jordan said. “This is Geoffrey, Angel and Holly. They’re from the future and came back to help us.”

“Is the future any better than our time?” George asked them.

“It’s worse,” Geoffrey said. “That’s why we’re helping them fight the Beast and his followers. The future is rampant with death and despair.”

“I’m glad I don’t have to experience the future,” George said.

“Unfortunately, if we’re not successful in destroying the Beast, the present will change for the worse,” Penny said. “Our first order of business is to excise this Peron person from the equation.”

“The problem is that he’s hard to pin down,” Milo said.

I will have to use my clairvoyance to detect the time and place where we can find him,” Penny said. “We will remain here until I do.”

“Do we have enough beds for all of us?” Jordan asked.

“Besides two rooms with double beds, I have couches,” George said.

“It will have to do,” Penny said.

That said, they went up to the cabin to relax after a hard day’s work. George went to work flaying and cooking the fish that he had caught. Penny and Carmen helped by cleaning and cooking vegetables from George’s garden. When the supper had been prepared, everyone sat down at a large hand-made wooden table.

Penny held up a hand. “We must offer our thanks for this fine supper.” She closed her eyes. “Dear Lord, thank you for this food. Bless the hands that prepared it. Bless it to our use and us to your service. And make us ever mindful of the needs of others. Through Christ our Lord we pray, amen.

Everyone said amen.

George held up a solid loaf of home baked bread. “I only have this bread and a few fishes.”

Penny smiled and turned to Jordan.

“Bring them to me,” Jordan said.

George passed the bread and fishes to him. Jordan held his hands over the food and suddenly it was several loaves and fishes.

No one questioned what had happened. George knew that he was part of something wonderful.

Later that night, the guys slept in one room and the girls in a large loft. Everyone was tired and needed sleep.